Today is 25th February 2013...and after a few years toying with the idea of sharing experiences of travel, wining and dining, and real estate I am finally getting down to it.
Right now I am in a France state of mind. In just two months we will be there. During the 5 years we've had that little place we've made friends with neighbors both French and non-French. The non-French friends use their French condo as a getaway from their homes in the Netherlands and Great Britain. It is with the non-French friends that we have done most of our travels and shared many adventures.
We are excited to getting back to France for an event we look forward to every year: The Gourmet Food and Wine Fair. This is where 100s of small winemakers come and to sell their wines; where chocolatiers offer samples of heavenly morsels; where cheese and sausage samples are offered to eager buyers. It is an adult candy store - if something like that could even exist! Wine is sold for just a few euros, close enough to just a few dollars (and I mean most are under $8) - and they are soooo good! There are champagnes, cremants, red, white and rose wines - the winemakers come from all over France and the fair runs for 4 days in May. We shop and shop and shop - load up our little car and then store the wine in our tiny garage. Well, a tiny car only needs a tiny garage! It seems as if everything here is a little on the "petite" side!
Shopping in France is a trip....each town and village still have several bakers, there is always a butcher, a small "epicerie" (shop) where you can pick up groceries and always, at least once a week, a fresh produce/green market. Our town is lucky enough to have a huge daily market during the summer months. Fall, winter and spring the market is closed on Mondays....and on Sundays we have a limited market - just enough to pick up a little something for Sunday dinner...and interestingly enough, it is the men who are shopping on Sundays! Needless to say, afterwards the men gather for a "cafe" or glass "du vin" to discuss politics and the week's events.
Our town is fairly sized so we have a "new" town that has a beautifully lined boulevard that goes from the (new) town square (fountains and all!) to the Mediterranean Sea. The street is lined with hairdressers, real estate offices, chocolate shops, clothing shops, fruit stands, a fish market and a nicely sized supermarket. The old town, where the daily produce market is held each morning until noon, has butchers, dress shops, restaurants, cafes, bakers, a budget-friendly knick-knack store with kitchen and household goods, more hairdressers, more real estate offices, opticians, perfume/cosmetic shops and a very nostalgic carousel.... Strolling through the maze of streets in the old town is never the same - window displays are constantly changing and staring into the beautifully arranged bakery windows is very common! Regardless of how full I may be, or suffering with a lack of appetite, these windows mysteriously call my name....and, viola!, I am in the shop.
However, when we need to do our weekly "stock up" grocery shopping we go to Carrefour. It is France's answer to Walmart...but with a twist! The food section is 3/4 of the store...and at prices you just cannot believe. A huge shopping cart with all the things we need to start us off upon arrival is usually 160Euros...about $200...and we can barely push the shopping cart. Our little car has bags in the trunk, along the back seat and floor and sometimes on my lap. Hard to believe, right?
There were a few things I needed to learn when we decided to set up home France..."it's a little different" became my mantra. First, the weather is not Fahrenheit but Celcius, time set to a 24 hour clock - so 14h00 is really 2pm, and everything is metric! I know I learned it in grade school, and my husband swears that he was taught "the world is going metric and we (the USA) have to learn it". Honestly, the only thing metric in the US are the soda bottles! Boy, did I have fun learning by making some good mistakes!
Measurements aside, the culture is "a little different" too! Take for instance our excursion to buy wall paint. I had my color choices from one of those paint store samples here in the US. Sample in hand, I figured out how to say "I want some paint". I was smart enough to write down the wall sizes, too. No way was I going to start calculating in metric just a few days into this move! We enter paint store, with that bewildered look in our eyes, hoping to find someone to help us by way of eye contact (because we did not know how to say, "could you help us please")...then, a serious gentleman comes over, I show my sample colors and through some chatter on his side, followed by my "je ne parle pas francais", we got to some paint tinting and comparing. He tried so hard, so many times to get the tint just right. It was almost closing time, the sun was getting very low in the sky and the winter winds were picking up. He was so kind - with each tint he motioned us to step outside and compare his coloring to my sample...when he finally got it just right, I did an "Elaine" (Seinfeld character) and slap/shoved his arm with the implication "you got it" ! Well, oh my goodness, the look on his face...I was mortified - he stared at me with such shock on his face! I wanted to run....but I still had one more color to get done....talk about hanging your head in shame...oh my goodness....The second color was much easier for him to match and when we stepped outside to confirm the match he looked at me...I smiled and shook my head "yes"...he then put his arm out for me to slap/shove him again! How nice was that?! I will never forget that first interaction...it broke down all the stereotyping I had ever been told about the French. There have been many many more instances like this...and as I share my stories further along, you'll see how warm and friendly the French have been towards us.
Until the next story...
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